Microsoft Techs

[alanbjames]

I was at my parents yesterday and through the door came a pamphlet from a guy working from home repairing and building PCs and he says he is a Microsoft Partner and also a qualified Microsoft technician.

How do i check if he is qualified or not and if not how do i report the fact he is advertising the fact he is?

he might just be someone trying to earn a living. Why the need to be a busy body?

[joglynne]

I think you can check the Microsoft Partner claim here ...

http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-GB/...28?q=&fcrc=GBR

Seems to be mainly business orientated but if your guy is listed you can click through to his listing and his Competencies & Certifications should be listed.

[rhyds]

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

he might just be someone trying to earn a living. Why the need to be a busy body?

If he's lying about being a Microsoft Partner then it does raise questions about honesty in other areas of his work.

It would be like a local backstreet garage sticking a massive dealer spec "Ford Service" sign up.

Originally Posted by rhyds

If he's lying about being a Microsoft Partner then it does raise questions about honesty in other areas of his work.

It would be like a local backstreet garage sticking a massive dealer spec "Ford Service" sign up.

for the jobs he will be doing being a Microsoft certified engineer would be of little or no use to him. Being a Microsoft partner would give him access to recycled licences but any legitimate system will have its own anyway.

I have no paper qualification but am very good at hardware and software repairs

[MalteseFalcon]

If thinking about using his services then you would want to check his credentials. If just being nosy, then yes why interfere.

[rhyds]

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

for the jobs he will be doing being a Microsoft certified engineer would be of little or no use to him. Being a Microsoft partner would give him access to recycled licences but any legitimate system will have its own anyway.

I have no paper qualification but am very good at hardware and software repairs

I have nothing against guys who fix PCs for a living, but claiming credentials that they don't hold is a step too far IMO.

He could always describe himself as a computer engineer, PC expert or even Windows expert, but "qualified microsoft technician" and "microsoft partner" implies MS sanctions what he does.

---------- Post added at 14:38 ---------- Previous post was at 14:30 ----------

Originally Posted by MarkC1984

If thinking about using his services then you would want to check his credentials. If just being nosy, then yes why interfere.

"Being nosy" depends on your point of view.

For example, I do a bit of IT repair work "on the side" for friends and family (my day job is also IT). Now I wouldn't really mind if someone else was to start a computer repair firm locally, as my livelihood doesn't depend on those little jobs.

However, if that firm was falsely advertising that they were Google/Cisco/PC World "partners" I would be concerned, as many people could be sucked in by such advertising. Also, if the owner's happy enough to mislead in advertising, would the temptation of misleading during fault diagnosis be resistible?

[qasdfdsaq]

Originally Posted by rhyds

I have nothing against guys who fix PCs for a living, but claiming credentials that they don't hold is a step too far IMO.

He could always describe himself as a computer engineer, PC expert or even Windows expert, but "qualified microsoft technician" and "microsoft partner" implies MS sanctions what he does.

And is that hard to believe? What makes you think he isn't qualified? What makes you think he is claiming credentials he doesn't hold? As for claiming credentials they don't hold, don't even get me started on magicians, homeopathists, scientologists or politicians...

However, if that firm was falsely advertising that they were Google/Cisco/PC World "partners" I would be concerned, as many people could be sucked in by such advertising. Also, if the owner's happy enough to mislead in advertising, would the temptation of misleading during fault diagnosis be resistible?

Do you question every piece of advertising this way? Do you go check the references every time you see a TV ad that says "8 out of 10 users would recommend shampoo X"? If not, then why this guy?

[rhyds]

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

And is that hard to believe? What makes you think he isn't qualified? What makes you think he is claiming credentials he doesn't hold?

"Microsoft Partner" status isn't usually handed out to people working from their house. If he's claiming it when its untrue then its false advertising and taking advantage of people. The OP was asking where such things could be checked. If it turns out this particular firm is legit then I retract any statement to the contrary.

As for "Qualified Microsoft Technician", I can't say I've heard of such a qualification (except forr MSCE of course).

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Do you question every piece of advertising this way? Do you go check the references every time you see a TV ad that says "8 out of 10 users would recommend shampoo X"? If not, then why this guy?

The ASA cover TV adverts (and they have to show their sources on the screen, much to my amusement), they don't cover door-to-door stuff like this.

My reason for wanting to check up on someone like this (especially if they were local to me) is that if they were to royally screw up a system I'd probably end up picking up the pieces (where I live the nearest alternative repair shop is a good 45 mins drive away). An equivalent scenario would be a gas boiler engineer checking if someone who'd started up in the area recently, driving a rickety van with GAS SAFE written on the side was in fact gas safe/CORGI registered. Its about kicking the cowboys out of the industry.

[Acathla]

You could try to report it: mlsecure@microsoft.com

http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/btl/b...id=kQhLEp9OfZ2

I'm not sure Microsoft will ever comment on individuals so you may never find out the truth but if it helps your conscience then why not email them.

---------- Post added at 16:44 ---------- Previous post was at 16:43 ----------

or maybe better, local trading standards as I doubt Microsoft will investigate a single person!

[alanbjames]

The real reason i think he is not a microsoft qualified engineer or anything at all to do with microsoft he closed his shop down and is now working from home. The home is in a hell of a mess, he his wife and kids are all very scruffy and he drives a battered old volvo yet he claims to have been in business over 40 years.

[Russ]

If I was giving my computer to someone to repair who claimed to have qualifications and was doing it as a living I'd expect them to have some sort of insurance to cover it in case he screws it up or damages my machine in some way.

I don't know much about liability insurance for computer engineers but I'm pretty sure they would only cover someone who was qualified. So if he was lying about being qualified but had years of experience I wouldn't be 100% certain I'd get my computer back in one piece.

If he had insurance and was qualified but not to Microsoft level I'd still not trust him due to such a lack of honesty. If someone has to lie about their qualifications to get work you have to wonder why they're not able to rely on word-of-mouth.

Each to their own but if he turns out not to be Microsoft qualified I'd steer well clear.

[madmax215]

He is not a microsoft engineer because there is no such thing. All the people that work at microsoft are computer programers. Microsoft is a software company. I am a pc enginer but I am not a microsoft enginer, I can build, install software, setup windows and fault find, every thing that the person says he can do but I am NOT a microsoft enginer, if I was I would be living and working in silicon valley.

Originally Posted by madmax215

He is not a microsoft engineer because there is no such thing. All the people that work at microsoft are computer programers. Microsoft is a software company. I am a pc enginer but I am not a microsoft enginer, I can build, install software, setup windows and fault find, every thing that the person says he can do but I am NOT a microsoft enginer, if I was I would be living and working in silicon valley.

you can engineer software you know

---------- Post added at 21:31 ---------- Previous post was at 21:30 ----------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering

---------- Post added at 21:31 ---------- Previous post was at 21:31 ----------

http://www.jobsite.co.uk/jobs/software-engineer

However, there are currently no recognised Microsoft Engineer qualifications - there used to be MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) in the 90s/early 2000s, but not any more.

My first (non-forces) passport had 'Software Engineer' as Profession, as I worked for a US company, and that's what they called their coders....